Assembly Roundup

By Kerry Colligan

We are at an important transition point for the University.
We have gone through a decade of unbelievable growth, Chief
Financial Officer Robert Kasdin told the Senate Assembly at its Oct.
19 meeting. Outlining his priorities for the academic year, Kasdin
touched on the growth of the physical plant of the University and his
working relationship with President Lee C. Bollinger and Provost
Nancy Cantor.

Acknowledging that new buildings draw more attention, Kasdin told
the Assembly that in the coming years the overwhelming
majority of dollars spent on University buildings will
and should be spent on rehabilitating and reusing existing
space. The University is committed, he added, to making sure
that every dollar that can be spent on academics is spent there.

To that end, Kasdin said he is working with the provost to break
down the notion that their areas of responsibility must clash.
It is my responsibility to make sure the Universitys
resources are preserved in acute fashion, but in doing so, we need to
be consistent with the ideas that are being generated by the faculty
and being prioritized by the provost.

I think were seeing a moment here where there are
shared values between the leadership on my side of the house, and the
leadership of the provosts office and the presidents
office. There will be moments where we disagree on facts, and there
will be moments where we disagree on priorities. But I think it
should be some comfort to you that we operate under a framework of
shared values, that we are here because we believe in what you are
doing.

News and Notes

In addition to Kasdins remarks, the Senate Assembly reviewed
the annual report of the Budget Study Committee. According to
committee member Elizabeth Duell, assistant professor of dermatology,
the report summarizes the implications and trends of budgetary
considerations on library, retirement and technology issues.

 Budgetary considerations played a minor role in
the creation of the Science Library despite concern raised by
particular departments. The decision was not driven by a desire
to save in operating costs, and there has been no significant staff
reduction because of the consolidation, the report states.

 Ending mandatory retirement for tenured faculty in 1990
raised questions about the long-term effect of the decision on the
University budget. While the committees work was limited to the
Ann Arbor campus, its findings suggest that the central
University budget is not affected. However, the report states
that there is insufficient data to determine any future trend.

 The report cites costs of $2,000$20,000 to update
classrooms for state-of-the-art technologyproviding the
necessary technology in classrooms to improve the teaching and
learning environment.

 In the coming year, the Budget Study Committee plans to
examine financial aid for graduate students, trends in the new
budgeting system, and how the University reconciles general budgetary
increases with progressively smaller tuition increases.

William Ensminger, professor of pharmacology and of internal
medicine, and chair of Senate Assembly, announced that Jose-Marie
Griffiths, University chief information officer and executive
director, Information Technology Division, plans to survey the
faculty during January and February regarding their computing and
information technology needs. The survey should be completed in
April, Ensminger noted.

The Academic Programs Group and the Academic Affairs Advisory
Committee joined Cantor for an Oct. 22 retreat to discuss the report
on the professoriate and the distribution of tenure-track faculty.
Cantor is scheduled to present remarks at the Nov. 16 Senate Assembly
meeting.

Campus violence prompts mutual respect resolution

In response to the beating death of a gay student at the
University of Wyoming and the burning of a Black students dorm
room at Kalamazoo College, the Assembly passed a resolution
condemning hate crimes. The resolution, drafted by Gordon MacAlpine,
professor of astronomy, reads:

The Senate Assembly, the representative body of the Faculty
at the University of Michigan, deplores and is deeply saddened by
recent acts of violence directed against college or university
students. No hate crime, based on such factors as race, sexual
orientation, ethnicity or religion, can be tolerated anywhere. We
call upon members of the academic community to renew efforts toward
fostering an environment of mutual respect for all.